The interactions of winds from massive young stellar objects: X-ray emission, dynamics, and cavity evolution

2D axis-symmetric hydrodynamical simulations are presented which explore the interaction of stellar and disk winds with surrounding infalling cloud material. The star, and its accompanying disk, blow winds inside a cavity cleared out by an earlier jet. The collision of the winds with their surroundings generates shock heated plasma which reaches temperatures up to ~10^8 K. Attenuated X-ray spectra are calculated from solving the equation of radiative transfer along lines-of-sight. This process is repeated at various epochs throughout the simulations to examine the evolution of the intrinsic and attenuated flux. We find that the dynamic nature of the wind-cavity interaction fuels intrinsic variability in the observed emission on timescales of several hundred years. This is principally due to variations in the position of the reverse shock which is influenced by changes in the shape of the cavity wall. The collision of the winds with the cavity wall can cause clumps of cloud material to be stripped away. Mixing of these clumps into the winds mass-loads the flow and enhances the X-ray emission measure. The position and shape of the reverse shock plays a key role in determining the strength and hardness of the X-ray emission. In some models the reverse shock is oblique to much of the stellar and disk outflows, whereas in others it is closely normal over a wide range of polar angles. For reasonable stellar and disk wind parameters the integrated count rate and spatial extent of the intensity peak for X-ray emission agree with \textit{Chandra} observations of the deeply embedded MYSOs S106 IRS4, Mon R2 IRS3 A, and AFGL 2591.(abridged)Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Developing an Online Tool to Promote Safe Sun Behaviors With Young Teenagers as Co-researchers

Despite education about the risks of excessive sun exposure, teenagers in Australia are sun-seeking, with sunburn common in summer

Prolonged exposure to manure from livestock administered antibiotics decreases ecosystem carbon-use efficiency and alters nitrogen cycling

Microbial communities drive soil ecosystem function but are also susceptible to environmental disturbances. We investigated whether exposure to manure sourced from cattle either administered or not administered antibiotics affected microbially-mediated terrestrial ecosystem function. We quantified changes in microbial community composition, and terrestrial elemental cycling via a stable isotope pulse-chase. Exposure to manure from antibiotic-treated cattle caused: i) changes in microbial community structure; and ii) alterations in elemental cycling throughout the terrestrial system. This exposure caused changes in fungal:bacterial, as well as changes in bacterial community structure. Additionally, exposure to manure from cattle treated with pirlimycin resulted in an approximate two-fold increase in ecosystem respiration of recently fixed-carbon, and a greater proportion of recently-added nitrogen in plant and soil pools compared to the control manure. Manure from antibiotic-treated cattle therefore affects terrestrial ecosystem function via the soil microbiome, causing decreased ecosystem carbon use efficiency, and altered nitrogen cycling

Public perception of "scarless" surgery : a critical analysis of the literature

Evidence relating to the perception and view of patients and physicians on natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) and laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) was scrutinized. A comprehensive literature search was performed through PubMed. A total of 18 studies were included in the analysis. Patients demonstrated interest in scarless surgery, with a preference for LESS over NOTES. Safety and efficacy remain the key factors in the decision-making process of patients. With more information about the safety and reproducibility of LESS and NOTES, and with improved educational efforts, patients and physicians alike may feel more comfortable in widespread application of scarless surgery.(undefined

11β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase type 1 is expressed in neutrophils and restrains an inflammatory response in male mice

Endogenous glucocorticoid action within cells is enhanced by prereceptor metabolism by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1), which converts intrinsically inert cortisone and 11-dehydrocorticosterone into active cortisol and corticosterone, respectively. 11β-HSD1 is highly expressed in immune cells elicited to the mouse peritoneum during thioglycollate-induced peritonitis and is down-regulated as the inflammation resolves. During inflammation, 11β-HSD1-deficient mice show enhanced recruitment of inflammatory cells and delayed acquisition of macrophage phagocytic capacity. However, the key cells in which 11β-HSD1 exerts these effects remain unknown. Here we have identified neutrophils (CD11b(+),Ly6G(+),7/4(+) cells) as the thioglycollate-recruited cells that most highly express 11β-HSD1 and show dynamic regulation of 11β-HSD1 in these cells during an inflammatory response. Flow cytometry showed high expression of 11β-HSD1 in peritoneal neutrophils early during inflammation, declining at later states. In contrast, expression in blood neutrophils continued to increase during inflammation. Ablation of monocytes/macrophages by treatment of CD11b-diphtheria-toxin receptor transgenic mice with diphtheria toxin prior to thioglycollate injection had no significant effect on 11β-HSD1 activity in peritoneal cells, consistent with neutrophils being the predominant 11β-HSD1 expressing cell type at this time. Similar to genetic deficiency in 11β-HSD1, acute inhibition of 11β-HSD1 activity during thioglycollate-induced peritonitis augmented inflammatory cell recruitment to the peritoneum. These data suggest that neutrophil 11β-HSD1 increases during inflammation to contribute to the restraining effect of glucocorticoids upon neutrophil-mediated inflammation. In human neutrophils, lipopolysaccharide activation increased 11β-HSD1 expression, suggesting the antiinflammatory effects of 11β-HSD1 in neutrophils may be conserved in humans

Associations between DSM-IV diagnosis, psychiatric symptoms and morning cortisol levels in a community sample of adolescents

Purpose. Dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA-axis) is implicated in a variety of psychiatric and emotional disorders. In this study, we explore the association between HPA-axis functioning, as measured by morning cortisol, and common psychiatric disorders and symptoms among a community sample of adolescents. Method. Data from a cross-sectional school-based survey of 501 school pupils, aged 15, were used to establish the strength of association between salivary morning cortisol and both diagnosis of psychiatric disorders and a number of psychiatric symptoms, as measured via a computerised psychiatric interview. Analysis, conducted separately by gender, used multiple regressions, adjusting for relevant confounders. Results-á-áWith one exception (a positive association between conduct disorder symptoms and cortisol among females) there was no association between morning cortisol and psychiatric diagnosis or symptoms. However, there was a significant two-way interaction between gender and conduct symptoms, with females showing a positive and males a negative association between cortisol and conduct symptoms. A further three-way interaction showed that while the association between cortisol and conduct symptoms was negative among males with a few mood disorder symptoms, among females with many mood symptoms it was positive. Conclusions. Except in relation to conduct symptoms, dysregulation of morning cortisol levels seems unrelated to any psychiatric disorder or symptoms. However, the relationship between cortisol and conduct symptoms is moderated by both gender and mood symptoms. Findings are compatible with the recent work suggesting research should concentrate on the moderated associations between gender, internalising and externalising symptoms and cortisol, rather than any simple relationship

The Effects of Using the Sun Safe App on Sun Health Knowledge and Behaviors of Young Teenagers: Results of Pilot Intervention Studies

BackgroundA balanced approach toward sun exposure and protection is needed by young people. Excessive sun exposure increases their risk for skin cancers such as melanoma, whereas some exposure is necessary for vitamin D and healthy bones. We have developed a new iOS smartphone app—Sun Safe—through a co-design process, which aims to support healthy and balanced decision-making by young teenagers (aged 12-13 years). ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to test the capacity of Sun Safe to improve sun health knowledge and behaviors of young teenagers in 3 pilot intervention studies completed in 2020. MethodsYoung teenagers (aged 12-13 years; N=57) were recruited through the web or through a local school via an open-access website and given access to Sun Safe (29/57, 51%) or a placebo (SunDial) app (28/57, 49%). Participants completed sun health questionnaires and knowledge quizzes before and after the 6-week intervention (either on the web or in class) and rated the quality of the app they used via a survey. ResultsOf the 57 participants, 51 (89%) participants (26, 51% for placebo arm and 25, 49% for the Sun Safe arm) completed these studies, with most (>50%) reporting that they used a smartphone to access their designated app either “once a fortnight” or “once/twice in total.” Improved sun health knowledge—particularly about the UV Index—was observed in participants who were given access to Sun Safe compared with those who used the placebo (−6.2 [percentage correct] difference in predicted means, 95% CI –12.4 to –0.03; P=.049; 2-way ANOVA). Unexpectedly, there were significantly more sunburn events in the Sun Safe group (relative risk 1.7, 95% CI 1.1-1.8; P=.02; Fisher exact test), although no differences in time spent outdoors or sun-protective behaviors were reported. COVID-19 pandemic–related community-wide shutdowns during April 2020 (when schools were closed) reduced the time spent outdoors by >100 minutes per day (–105 minutes per day difference in predicted means, 95% CI –150 to –59 minutes per day; P=.002; paired 2-tailed Student t test). Sun Safe was well-rated by participants, particularly for information (mean 4.2, SD 0.6 out of 5). ConclusionsAccess to the Sun Safe app increased sun health knowledge among young teenagers in these pilot intervention studies. Further investigations with larger sample sizes are required to confirm these observations and further test the effects of Sun Safe on sun-protective behaviors

Metabolic dysfunction induced by a high-fat diet modulates hematopoietic stem and myeloid progenitor cells in brown adipose tissue of mice

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) may be an important metabolic regulator of whole-body glucose. While important roles have been ascribed to macrophages in regulating metabolic functions in BAT, little is known of the roles of other immune cells subsets, particularly dendritic cells (DCs). Eating a high-fat diet may compromise the development of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs)-which give rise to DCs-in bone marrow, with less known of its effects in BAT. We have previously demonstrated that ongoing exposure to low-dose ultraviolet radiation (UVR) significantly reduced the 'whitening' effect of eating a high-fat diet upon interscapular (i) BAT of mice. Here, we examined whether this observation may be linked to changes in the phenotype of HSPCs and myeloid-derived immune cells in iBAT and bone marrow of mice using 12-colour flow cytometry. Many HSPC subsets declined in both iBAT and bone marrow with increasing metabolic dysfunction. Conversely, with rising adiposity and metabolic dysfunction, conventional DCs (cDCs) increased in both of these tissues. When compared with a low-fat diet, consumption of a high-fat diet significantly reduced proportions of myeloid, common myeloid and megakaryocyte-erythrocyte progenitors in iBAT, and short-term hematopoietic stem cells in bone marrow. In mice fed the high-fat diet, exposure to low-dose UVR significantly reduced proportions of cDCs in iBAT, independently of nitric oxide release from irradiated skin [blocked using the scavenger 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide potassium salt (cPTIO)], but did not significantly modify HSPC subsets in either tissue. Further studies are needed to determine whether changes in these cell populations contribute towards metabolic dysfunction .</p